From Amazon Number 1 best-selling author, David F. Berens. Back from his tour in Afghanistan, Troy Clint Bodean had everything he needed for some peace and quiet: a good fishing pole, a pickup truck, and a beach house on a small island in South Carolina. All was right with the world - until he found the hat. It was a straw cowboy hat with a peacock feather stuck in the band and it looked good on him, really good. That's when everyone started trying to kill him, and he had no idea why. Hold on to your hat! Suspenseful, gripping, and fast-paced, Hat Check - the first Troy Bodean Adventure - follows Troy trying desperately to stay alive and figure out why everyone is out to get him. Readers of Carl Hiaasen, Randy Wayne White, and Tim Dorsey will love the island feel and snappy humor of Hat Check.

https://samples.audible.com/bk/acx0/094225/bk_acx0_094225_sample.mp3
A new opportunity in Troy Bodean’s life enables him to live the life of a beach bum, well, more or less. His good looks, inability to stay out of trouble and the sexy blonde chick who has recently sent him “interested” vibes turn his world upside down. His landlord has been recently found murdered, his discovery that his (Ms. Right) ex-girlfriend lives up the hill is just the beginning of his bad luck. His finding and rescuing a cowboy hat with a peacock feather in it is a sign of his luck changing … uh, no!

The hat holds the key to murder, intrigue and two very rude illiterate Australian hitmen sent to recover the mystery the hat holds. There are a slew of other characters that bring the listener to near tears of laughter – Chesney, the twin pole dancing blondes, the two Australian hit-men, and the ice cream truck guy.

An interesting and highly entertaining murder thriller with engaging characters that keep the action moving. David Berens has written an action-packed thriller that keeps the listener’s attention. In places, it is highly amusing while in others it is extremely dark. This is a good book, but one that has some highly violent scenes. I’m not sure I believed the two hit-men; they were a bit flakier than I would have imagined.

The characters are well-developed with realistic dialog throughout the book. Lots of moving pieces that come together, although I thought Bodean could have been developed slightly more. There were places where he did not seem the main character or he took too many steps back into the background.

The narrator, Theo Holland, has a talented voice that helped draw the listener in and added a bit of flair to the story. I enjoyed the voices he used for each character. He did a good solid job of narration, I enjoyed his voice.

Mother of 2, grandmother of 5; love to read and listen to books; published writer. Event coordinator and associate program officer professionally. I also do editing, reviewing and ghostwriting. Highly eclectic in my reading but favorite genres are horror and cozy mysteries.

I have 30+ years of editing experience within the worlds of academia and business. My degrees are a B.A. in English with a Master’s in Education. My passion is experiencing the art of storytelling through books and audio's.